LED / Strobes for Mavic 2 Pro

[Stockmanager]

Not with the mounts from Aeriel. Takes seconds to put them on or take them off.

Thank you. The set up looks good and, if the drone is more visible, taking the led's off won't be an issue.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

But, 2 on each end is not going to make it more visible.

The white is most visible and the green is a close 2nd. Red and blue are pretty much useless.

Hi mate, sorry to butt in and no offence, but a slight correction on two things . . .

- Having 2 x ARCII (and probably 2 x FHT Dual) IS noticeably more visible, I guess it's the area of light being put out, but it is clearly notable in the night test video as per ThomasB's post #16

- FHT advise that yes white are brightest, followed by red, then green . . . I've not seen where their blue fits in, thought the were only in the combo emergency services lights (with white) anyway.

I have duals ordered, but got one of the combo ARII in red / white combo, just in case it's needed in a spot on the back.

 

[Skywalker]

Before my Air I had an Echine E511s that had two super bright leds in the front. I miss those lights.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Before my Air I had an Echine E511s that had two super bright leds in the front. I miss those lights.

That would be handy wouldn't it ?
How much would factoring in a few 5w hi intensity cree be during manufacture.
I guess it would add a buck tops for everything like leds, wiring, a smidge extra labour, that's if feeling very generous, but in general mass manufacturers would scrimp something to save a few cents.

 

[Filipok]

Hi mate, sorry to butt in and no offence, but a slight correction on two things . . .

- Having 2 x ARCII (and probably 2 x FHT Dual) IS noticeably more visible, I guess it's the area of light being put out, but it is clearly notable in the night test video as per ThomasB's post #16

- FHT advise that yes white are brightest, followed by red, then green . . . I've not seen where their blue fits in, thought the were only in the combo emergency services lights (with white) anyway.

I have duals ordered, but got one of the combo ARII in red / white combo, just in case it's needed in a spot on the back.

I agree that the FAA regulations call for all four colors. My point was simply two of the lights, especially of a different color (other than white, really), isn't going to make any difference in terms of how far you can see the drone. I have them and have tried it. I'm not saying the weight is going make a hill of beans worth of difference. Including the mount, you're looking at probably 5 grams each. It's nothing. I'm just saying that you're not going to see much difference. If I were to do it again, I would have just ordered all white and left it at that. All the other colors kinda suck in terms of visibility.

 

[Filipok]

Can you fold the legs with the led's mounted?

no sir.

 

[Thomas B]

Can you fold the legs with the led's mounted?

No, but attachment takes about 30 seconds.

 

[Milo187]

I just purchased a set of these mounts for my M2P and P4P with 2 Firehouse ARC2s so I can interchange the strobes between the drone I'm flying. They should be here this week and from everything I've been reading there's no effect on video or photos under normal conditions. It makes sense

I just purchased a set of these mounts for my M2P and P4P with 2 Firehouse ARC2s so I can interchange the strobes between the drone I'm flying. They should be here this week and from everything I've been reading there's no effect on video or photos under normal conditions. It makes sense regarding moisture/fog like you see when landing in a plane with fog. It just reflects off of anything like that.
Looking forward to using these to improve VLOS during the day and early evening!

Just got my setup yesterday and they work great! This helps tremendously at both short and long distances. I especially like them when flying below the treeline or in and around buildings for inspections since I often lose sight of the drone as it blends into the background.This lets me spot it with little to know effort.
Special shoutout to aerial-pixel for great products and even better customer service! Their mounts are awesome, easy to take on/off and hold everything in place. Never disappointed with anything I’ve bought from them!

 

[Filipok]

Just got my setup yesterday and they work great! This helps tremendously at both short and long distances.

Yup. I love mine. It's very comforting to be able to look up and immediately spot my quad. Glad you like them. They're pretty amazing, even at dusk.

 

[mnix]

3 x Firehouse ARC II (Red, green, blue so I can tell which ones I'm looking at)
Custom 3D-printed mount from parts of 2 different thingiverse items.
Oh, and don't mind the flour stuck to the side of the dropper mechanism... that test didn't go so well

 

[parkgt]

View attachment 80723
3 x Firehouse ARC II (Red, green, blue so I can tell which ones I'm looking at)
Custom 3D-printed mount from parts of 2 different thingiverse items.
Oh, and don't mind the flour stuck to the side of the dropper mechanism... that test didn't go so well

Why use a blue, least visible and not a normal navigational color?

 

[mnix]

Why use a blue, least visible and not a normal navigational color?

Mostly because it's not red or green, and the other light on the front is white.

 

[Big-Foot]

View attachment 80723
3 x Firehouse ARC II (Red, green, blue so I can tell which ones I'm looking at)
Custom 3D-printed mount from parts of 2 different thingiverse items.
Oh, and don't mind the flour stuck to the side of the dropper mechanism... that test didn't go so well

Okay you have me (and probably others) curious about the dropper mechanism and how you trigger it!

 

[parkgt]

Mostly because it's not red or green, and the other light on the front is white.

I choose to go with the standard aeronautical scheme; Red left front, Green right front, White to the rear.

 

[ajkm]

A couple of questions/thoughts:
1. The antennae are in the front legs; how does fixing something with electrical activity (inferred from the PCB) affect the transmission of the control link? (And what evidence is there for an answer to that?)
2. How does one check the CoG and flight characteristics after installation; and how does one assure they remain within DJI limits/specs? (Has anyone ever seen the COG envelope diagrammed by DJI?)
3. The argument seems to be that these improve VLOS at night - so I presume everyone using them in that scenario is flying under a waiver?
4. Other than the M2 Enterprise, none of the other Mavics is set up for the addition of equipment on the body of the aircraft; how are DJI warranty and manufacturer’s declared safety to national air service organizations affected by the installation of lights?

 

[Thomas B]

A couple of questions/thoughts:
1. The antennae are in the front legs; how does fixing something with electrical activity (inferred from the PCB) affect the transmission of the control link? (And what evidence is there for an answer to that?)
2. How does one check the CoG and flight characteristics after installation; and how does one assure they remain within DJI limits/specs? (Has anyone ever seen the COG envelope diagrammed by DJI?)
3. The argument seems to be that these improve VLOS at night - so I presume everyone using them in that scenario is flying under a waiver?
4. Other than the M2 Enterprise, none of the other Mavics is set up for the addition of equipment on the body of the aircraft; how are DJI warranty and manufacturer’s declared safety to national air service organizations affected by the installation of lights?

1. Can’t speak to all possibilities, but lights on the front legs have shown me no signs of control signal interference as far as strength, latency, or related to drone orientation.
2. Never did it... notice no difference in flight characteristics in 10 months uses both with and without leg mounted strobes... other that pure VLOS. I fly 3-5 batteries 3-4x/week.
3. VLOS is at least doubled during daylight/dawn/dusk flights.. Flying at night, of course requires a special application approval to FAA, but is generally unrelated to strobes other than distance VLOS.
4. Lights are not a problem on any DJI drone or it’s warranty... besides the camera can’t see them and they are easily removable without a trace. I install preflight and remove post flight. Short answer: the factors you raise are not affected.... they didn’t Care about my PolarPro landing gear on the front or back legs either.

 

[parkgt]

You don't n

A couple of questions/thoughts:

3. The argument seems to be that these improve VLOS at night - so I presume everyone using them in that scenario is flying under a waiver?

[/QUOTE

You don't need a Daylight waiver to fly at night unless your flying under 107. It is not an argument that they improve VLOS at night; they improve it anytime.

 

[mnix]

Okay you have me (and probably others) curious about the dropper mechanism and how you trigger it!

It was about twice the price of the cheapie ebay droppers, but it leaves the usual mounting points free for other uses and the payload hook is right under the COG of the mavic on the bottom, and clear of the sensors.
Triggered by an optical sensor that clips over the front lights, so it can be triggered by C1 or C2 on the remote.

 

[Skywalker]

I guess it depends on what you want lights for. Ran across these:

Roboterwerk

Roboterwerk

www.amazon.com

 

[ID77]

Firehouse Technology have the best selection of strobe lights and mounts. I have 4 of them and they are just fantastic, very bright and well made. I have these mounted in my Drone.